Gran Turismo 1 Retrospective.

Edge magazine has taken a look back at Gran Turismo for the PSOne discussing whether the first title deserved its 10/10 score back in 1997. This quote, for me, aptly describes the impact the title had;

The Real Driving Simulator redefined the console racing game, ripping it from its arcade roots, and set a new standard for the breadth, fidelity and flexibility of game software that would – and still does – cause ripples way beyond its genre.

The article explores every facet of the game from the way it changed console racers to its RPG approach and the implementation of the Dual Shock controller. Gran Tursimo 1 was huge in my life (It was also the only GT game that I ever fully completed) and I remember everyone at school discussing what cars they had bought/races completed. So there’s no doubt in my mind it deserved a 10/10 but feel free to dispute or agree in the comments below.

it was the first game to really give you that feeling you’re driving an actual car. Back then, the graphics seemed to look better than they did, though, haha (of course, we’re spoiled by PS3 games). It was still the best racing sim at the time. GT1 set the bar high and, IMO, GT2 surpassed that. GT3 seemed to miss the mark with less cars, etc, but GT4 reclaimed the high standards, this time with an even larger number of cars.

The question is, will GT5 just be another GT3 or will it surpass the likes of GT2 and 4?

I never played GT1 or GT2 and didn’t even own a PS1 at the time, but I could tell the impact it had.

I knew several car mechanic types, who normally never touched a video game, who were obsessed with that game, and ran out bought PS1’s and wheel setups just to play it. And me, as a video gamer, who really wasn’t very interested in cars, GT3+4 grew that interest slightly…

Even car dealerships were putting little Gran Tursimo stations on show floors which is unheard of. However, after GT3 came out, the excitement seemed to fade, despite the games getting more and more polished.

It’s kind of like the scrolling note music games: there was an unexpected explosive burst of excitement in 2006-2008 and now, even with the games getting more polished, the whole thing is just old news. The drop off may not be quite as steep, I’m still planning to buy GT5, but I still think it’s similar.

Bottom line, yes, Gran Tursismo was a genuine genre buster, and deserves that type of award and recognition.

GT3’s whole problem was that the number of cars dropped by a huge margin and there really wasn’t anything new with the tracks. The only thing it really had going for it was the graphics and that it was on a next-gen console.

GT4, IMO, is the best one of all, though. But now that there’s A LOT more competition in the racing sim genre (even Need for Speed is starting to get into it), Polyphony really needs to step it up. The rally races need to be more like RalliSport Challenge 2 from the XBox (GREAT game, I’m surprised there’s no sequel), there needs to be a more extensive damage model (something better than what the TGS demo had) that covers all cars (and at least make a slider for the amount of damage you want, from none to full-blown hit-a-wall-at-200MPH-end-your-career type damage :lol:) and more variety in the tracks. Car selection would definitely not be topped, but DLC packs for tracks and cars would definitely be nice! And custom liveries (using a system where it has free flow vinyl placement so you don’t have to do all the panels separately and line up the lines and everything when you have, say, a roof vinyl that needs to bleed onto the left side) Right now, the only real competition that GT needs to pass is Forza 3